Here, in her new book, Real Good Church: How Our Church Came Back from the Dead, and Yours Can, Too, she shares everything her church did, addressing topics such as: outreach and growth strategies, finances and giving, creative worship, including personal testimony and corporate prayer, church conflict and change, anxiety and humor, and much more.

    We can call, text, email, or post our status to friends and family on the go. We can carry countless games, music, and apps in our pocket. Yet it's easy to feel overwhelmed by access to so much information and exhausted from managing our online relationships and selves. Craig Detweiler, a nationally known writer and speaker on media issues, provides needed Christian perspective on navigating today's social media culture. He interacts with major symbols, or "iGods," of our distracted age--Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Pixar, YouTube, and Twitter--to investigate the impact of the technologies and cultural phenomena that drive us. Detweiler offers a historic look at where we've been and a prophetic look at where we're headed, helping us sort out the immediate from the eternal, the digital from the divine.

    As you develop your roles in your family, you unlock more of His plan. He tasked no one else but you with being your husband’s wife, and He hasn’t given anyone else except you the responsibility of being mother to your children. Spoiler alert – those assignments begin before we even meet our spouse! Famous in heaven and at home. That’s what He has called us to unquestionably. As we dig into Proverbs 31 together, let’s lay down our to-do lists and worldly expectations. Let’s not overlook and undervalue what we can be certain He desires from our lives. Rather than just seeking something worthy to do, let’s passionately pursue who God purposely created us to be.

    In her provocative new book, historian and researcher Diana Butler Bass argues that there are signs that mainline Protestant churches are indeed changing, finding a new vitality intentionally grounded in Christian practices and laying the groundwork for a new type of congregation. The Practicing Congregation tracks these changes by looking at the overall history of American congregations, noting the cultural trends that have sparked change, and providing evidence of how mainline churches are reappropriating traditional Christian practices. The signs of life that Bass identifies lead the reader beyond the crumbling "liberal vs. conservative" dualities to a more nuanced and fluid understanding of the shape of contemporary ecclesiology and faithfulness. In so doing, she helps readers understand tradition in new ways and creates an alternative path through the culture wars that today arrest the energies of most denominations. Invigorated by stories from Bass's own experience, The Practicing Congregation provides a hopeful and exciting vision for the church. The imaginative "retraditioning" she identifies and celebrates will guide pastors and other leaders on this "pilgrimage of creating church" and convincingly counter the naysayers that long ago gave up on the viability of the mainline church.

    But community can't be forced, controlled, or easily created. The problem, says Joseph R. Myers, is that churches are too focused on developing programs instead of concentrating on environments where community will spontaneously emerge.Organic Community challenges key leaders to become environmentalists--people who create or shape environments. Outlining nine organizational tools for creating a healthy environment, Myers shows readers how to diagnose their current situation and implement patterns that will develop possibilities for healthy communities.

    Now with an all-new look, this repackaged version continues to advance the mission of the first release. Mentoring young leaders as they face the unique issues of a changing world has been pastor and bestselling author Andy Stanley’s passion for more than a decade. Here he shares material from his leadership training sessions, developed to address essential leadership qualities such as character, clarity, courage, and competency. This is the perfect guide for any new leader—or for the mentor of a future leader! Straight Talk to Tomorrow’s Leaders Five characteristics mark the man or woman who will shape the future. -Courage -Clarity -Competence -Coachability -Character Drawing on two decades of experience mentoring a rising generation, seasoned visionary Andy Stanley shows how to: -Discover and play to your strengths -Harness your fears -Leverage uncertainty -Enlist a leadership coach -Maintain moral authority “Capable men and women will eventually catch, pass, and replace the current generation of leaders,” says Stanley. “Embracing these essentials, you will not only excel in your personal leadership, but also ensure a no-regrets experience for those who choose to follow you.” “ Andy Stanley ’s The Next Generation Leader will equip the messengers to stand a little taller with a vision of hope and promise as they engraft these timeless principles into their daily lives.” —Dan T. Cathy, president and CEO, Chick-Fil-A Corporation “It’s obvious that what Andy Stanley has to say in The Next Generation Leader comes straight from the gut of someone who is in the leadership game and is winning at it.” —Bill Hybels, senior pastor, Willow Creek Community Church “ Andy Stanley offers a fresh perspective on ageless truths that will be of enormous benefit to today’s leaders and to future generations.” —Patrick S. Flood, chairman and CEO, HomeBanc Mortgage Corporation Story Behind the BookAndy Stanley, the senior pastor of the North Point Ministries campuses with a cumulative congregation of more than twenty thousand, admits he has one single, core passion. He lives to train and mentor young leaders to be the best they can be! He sees the “next gen” need for quality Christian resources on leadership and wrote this book entrenched in leadership himself, desiring to guide the up-and-coming young men and women who will shape our future.

    Thinking of quitting the ministry, Navajo doesn't know where toturn until he begins meeting with a seasoned man of the cloth--his "oldpastor"--who, through successive Monday visits, offers a legacy of wisdomin the form of 15 unique principles.In lyrical prose, Navajoshares the personal anecdotes, fables, and deep spiritual insights offered bythe old pastor and his wife. By turns funny, heartbreaking, and thoughtprovoking, Mondays with My Old Pastor is a comfort to anyone whostruggles in his or her walk with God. As readers follow Navajo's journeyfrom desperation to rejuvenation, they will find themselves similarlytransformed and inspired. This moving, beautifully written account is sure toreignite every soul's longing for renewal.

    The changes are profound, especially when you consider the unchecked decline in the influence, size, and social standing of the church. There is an undercurrent of anxiety in the evangelical world, and a hunger for something new. And we’re sensing the urgency of it.We need fresh, creative counterintuitive ways of doing ministry and church and leading it in the 21st century. We need to adapt. Fast. Both in our practices and our thinking. The aim of this book is simple: When we understand the powerful forces at work in the world today, we’ll learn how something called The Third Culture can yield perhaps the most critical missing ingredient in the church today—adaptability—and help the church remain on the best side of history. A Third Culture Church and a Third Culture Leader looks at our new global village and the church’s role in that village in a revolutionary way. It’s a way to reconnect with the historical roots of what Jesus envisioned the church could be—a people known for a brand of love, unity, goodness, and extravagant spirit that defies all conventions. This book is part of the successful Leadership Innovation Series.

    They believed that following Jesus and aiming to reach millions was worth any cost. Be careful with this book. It might inspire you to risk everything you have to follow Jesus. You’ve been warned.

    The book is based on two years of work and over 200 interviews with people in urban, suburban, and rural congregations around the United States. Each chapter introduces specific congregations and their challenges, and lays out the theological underpinnings of tackling fears head-on and embracing change as a welcome part of community life. Contents include: The Radical Welcome Journey; Mapping the Way; God of Welcome, God of Grace; With Hearts Wide Open; Getting Real; Facing Our Fears and Embracing the Dream, The Joy in the Struggle.

    But this message also creates human beauty--beautiful relationships in our churches, making the glory of Christ visible in the world today.In this timely book, Pastor Ray Ortlund makes the case that gospel doctrine creates a gospel culture. In too many of our churches, it is the beauty of a gospel culture that is the missing piece of the puzzle. But when the gospel is allowed to exert its full power, a church becomes radiant with the glory of Christ.

    Greear pastors. Big givers. Key volunteers. Some of his best leaders and friends. And that's exactly how he wants it to be.When Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission, he revealed that the key for reaching the world with the gospel is found in sending, not gathering. Though many churches focus time and energy on attracting people and counting numbers, the real mission of the church isn't how many people you can gather. It's about training up disciples and then sending them out. The true measure of success for a church should be its sending capacity, not its seating capacity.But there is a cost to this. To see ministry multiply, we must release the seeds God has placed in our hands. And to do that, we must ask ourselves whether we are concerned more with building our kingdom or God's.In Gaining By Losing, J.D. Greear unpacks ten plumb lines that you can use to reorient your church's priorities around God's mission to reach a lost world. The good news is that you don't need to choose between gathering or sending. Effective churches can, and must, do both.

    Sauls shares his own stories and those of other leaders from Scripture and throughout history to remind us that we are human, we are sinners, and we need Jesus to help us thrive as people and leaders.   For Christian leaders—both inside and outside of the church—weaknesses that are left unchecked can lead to a downfall that is both public and painful. They want to lead with character and live like Jesus, but ambition, isolation, criticism, envy, anticlimax, opposition, restlessness, and insecurity can get in the way. From Weakness to Strength provides leaders with tools to draw near to Jesus and stay encouraged and hopeful, even (and especially) when sin and struggle get in the way.

    Kara E. Powell and youth expert Chap Clark--authors known for the integrity of their research and the intensity of their passion for young people--Sticky Faith is geared to spark a movement that empowers adults to develop robust and long-term faith in kids of all ages.Further engage your family and church with the Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family, Sticky Faith curriculum, and Sticky Faith youth worker edition. Sticky Faith is also available in Spanish, Cómo criar jóvenes de fe sólida.

    They talked to them, had cook-outs with them, and went to church with them. In our time of unprecedented mobility and increasing isolationism, it's hard to make lasting connections with those who live right outside our front door. We have hundreds of "friends" through online social networking, but we often don't even know the full name of the person who lives right next door.This unique and inspiring book asks the question: What is the most loving thing I can do for the people who live on my street or in my apartment building? Through compelling true stories of lives impacted, the authors show readers how to create genuine friendships with the people who live in closest proximity to them. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter make this book perfect for small groups or individual study.